The Pinellas County School Board in Tampa Bay, Florida voted to deny a $54,000 grant to a Boy Scouts of America-affiliated educational program called “Learning for Life” because the BSA discriminates against gay youth.” The grant denial effectively kills the program, which served Pinellas County elementary and middle schools. Instead they will expand the district’s “Commitment to Character” program which is presumably less hatey.
The BSA’s “Learning for Life” was a character education program that allegedly taught students values like honesty, fairness, respect, and responsibility; pretty strange coming from a group that once kicked out a lesbian den mother and refused to protect a kid from being used as a fuck toy by one of his (presumably straight) scout leader.
Thumbnail via Ewan Traveler
Cam
Good, this is the same thing that eventually forced the Mormon Church to stop discriminating against blacks. It was when societal acceptance finally tipped to the point where what they were doing was so obviously against the grain.
It is finally to the point where bigotry is no longer going to be excused because of “Tradition” or using the phony excuse of religion while ignoring everything else the religion says.
the crustybastard
Not the sort of thing I’ve come to expect from Florida. Congratulations!
Steve
It is clear now that discrimination against gays is going to go down in the history books in much the same light as discrimination against blacks. Some organizations persisted in discriminating against blacks, and became footnotes in history. Others, took the lead in nondiscrimination, and became powerful forces in society.
BSA once took the lead in nondiscrimination, choosing to admit blacks and other racial minorities, and became a powerful force in society. However, in recent decades, BSA has chosen to discriminate against gays, and has spent the good will that it used to have.
BSA is now controlled by the LDS church, having cast its lot with hate and discrimination. I expect BSA will reverse its policy of discrimination, just after the LDS church changes its own policy. Unfortunately, that will be after BSA has ceased to be a force in society.
phallus
One school board member has been fighting this grant for a long time especially since her son is gay. Good for her… a parent sticking up for her gay son when so many others disown theirs… @ crusty, I agree. Florida’s population is mainly conservative transplants who “force” their political will and beliefs on the rest of us living here in this state.
ronwol
Again Queerty needs to check an atlas! Pinellas County in NOT IN Tampa Bay! Pinellas
County is a peninsula of land on the west coast of Florida which has the Gulf of
Mexico on it’s west side and Tampa Bay on it east side. It’s county seat is
St. Petersburg. Tampa Bay is a very large body of water in which only
marien life live. The Pinellas County School Board in not in Tampa Bay, it is in
St. Petersburg, and a good three miles from the Bay.
xander
This goes to show what can happen when one person fights for what’s right. School boards are increasingly politicized over issues such as s€x ed, creationism vs evolution, and the BSA / club issues.
The fundy xters are being encouraged by their churches to run for school boards, and we’ve seen *too* many examples of how that works against us.